[Iatrogenic colitis following immunotherapy : monocentric retrospective study at the University Hospital of Liège]. / Colites iatrogènes sur immunothérapie : étude rétrospective au CHU de Liège.

Checkpoint inhibitor colitis is a complication that is often underestimated when it is slow-grade, and results in relatively few hospital admissions compared to its frequency of occurrence. A strict history-taking approach, combined with an endoscopic work-up in cases of severity, is recommended. The use of the fecal calprotectin may also be useful. When used appropriately, the various lines of treatment are generally effective, and second-line therapies (biotherapies) are rarely used. However, recent evidence suggests that patients with severe symptoms should be treated more rapidly with biological therapies, especially if severity is endoscopically confirmed, as corticosteroids carry a greater risk of infection. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of non-symptomatic, first and second line therapies for immunotherapy-related colitis in a population of patients at the CHU of Liège.

La colite iatrogène sur immunothérapie est une complication souvent sous-évaluée lorsqu'elle est de bas grade et entraîne relativement peu d'hospitalisations par rapport à sa fréquence d'apparition. Une approche stricte au niveau de l'anamnèse, combinée à un bilan endo-scopique en cas de gravité, est conseillée. La mesure de la calprotectine fécale peut également s'avérer utile. Les différentes lignes de traitement sont, en cas d'utilisation adéquate, le plus souvent efficaces et les deuxièmes lignes (biothérapies) ne sont que rarement utilisées. Cependant, de récentes données conseillent une utilisation plus rapide des traitements biologiques chez les patients ayant un tableau sévère, surtout si celui-ci est confirmé au niveau endoscopique, car les corticoïdes entrainent un risque majoré de surinfection. L'objectif de ce travail est de démontrer l'efficacité des traitements non symptomatiques de 1ère et de 2ème lignes dans le cadre de colites liées aux immunothérapies sur une population de patients du CHU de Liège.

A real-world analysis on the efficacy and tolerability of liposomal irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in Belgium.

Background: Currently, nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) + 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (5-FU/LV) is the only approved second-line treatment for patients suffering from metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC). However, also other chemotherapeutic regimens are used in this setting and due to the lack of clear real-world data on the efficacy of the different regimens, there is no consensus on the optimal treatment sequence for mPDAC patients. Objectives: To provide information on the safe and efficacious use of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV in clinical practice in Belgium, which is needed for healthcare professionals to estimate the risk-benefit ratio of the intervention. Methods: Medical data of adult patients with mPDAC who were treated with nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV in one of the participating Belgian hospitals were retrospectively collected. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to obtain survival curves to estimate the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). All other results were presented descriptively. Results: A total of 56 patients [median age at diagnosis: 69 years (range 43 years), 57.1% male] were included. Patients received a median of 5 (range 49 cycles) nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV cycles, extended over 10 weeks (range 130.8 weeks). The median start dose for nal-IRI was 70 mg/m² (range 49.24 mg/m²) and chemotherapy dose reduction and delay occurred in, respectively, 42.8% and 37.5% of the patients. The median OS was 6.8 months (95% CI: 5.6-8.4 months) with a 6-month survival rate of 57.4% and a 1-year survival rate of 27.8% in the overall study population. The median OS for patients treated with nal-IRI as second-line therapy or as later-line treatment was, respectively, 6.8 months (95% CI: 5.9-7.0 months) and 5.6 months (95% CI: 4.2-no upper limit). In the overall study population, a median PFS of 3.1 months (95% CI: 2.4-4.6 months) and a disease control rate of 48.3%, comprising 30.4% stable disease, 16.1% partial and 1.8% complete response, was observed. The median PFS for patients treated with nal-IRI as second-line therapy was 3.9 months (95% CI: 2.8-4.8 months) while this was 2.4 months (95% CI: 1.9-9.1 months) for those that received nal-IRI in a later-line treatment. In terms of safety, gastrointestinal problems occurred most (64.3% of the patients) and from all reported treatment emergent adverse events, 39.2% were grade 3 or 4. Conclusion: Nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV is a valuable, effective, and safe sequential treatment option following gemcitabine-based therapy in patients with mPDAC. Trial details: Retrospective study on the efficacy and tolerability of liposomal irinotecan (NALIRI); ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0509506 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05095064?term=naliri&draw=2&rank=2).

Oncological patients' reactions to COVID-19 pandemic: A single institution prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid reorganization in all human and hospital activities, with impact on cancer patients. AIM: An analysis of cancer patients fears, and awareness of COVID-19 has been done in this study. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed cancer patients' reactions to the pandemic and their perception of oncological care reorganization, through a 12-item survey, proposed at the peak of pandemic and 3 months later. Overall, 237 patients were included in the study. During the peak of pandemic 34.6% of patients were more worried about COVID-19 than cancer versus 26.4% in the post-acute phase (p = .013). Although 49.8% of patients in the acute phase and 42.3% in the post-acute phase considered their risk of death if infected ≥50%, and more than 70% of patients thought to be at higher risk of complications, the majority of them did not consider the possibility to stop or delay their treatment. Patients were more interested in following news about COVID-19 than cancer and they complied with all preventive measures in more than 90% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Although cancer patients worried about COVID-19 and evaluated the risk of complication or death due to COVID-19 as extremely high, they were still asking for the best oncological treatment.

Patients-centered SurvivorShIp care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies (PERSIST): a multicenter study protocol to evaluate efficacy of digital tools supporting cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: It is encouraging to see a substantial increase in individuals surviving cancer. Even more so since most of them will have a positive effect on society by returning to work. However, many cancer survivors have unmet needs, especially when it comes to improving their quality of life (QoL). Only few survivors are able to meet all of the recommendations regarding well-being and there is a body of evidence that cancer survivors' needs often remain neglected from health policy and national cancer control plans. This increases the impact of inequalities in cancer care and adds a dangerous component to it. The inequalities affect the individual survivor, their career, along with their relatives and society as a whole. The current study will evaluate the impact of the use of big data analytics and artificial intelligence on the self-efficacy of participants following intervention supported by digital tools. The secondary endpoints include evaluation of the impact of patient trajectories (from retrospective data) and patient gathered health data on prediction and improved intervention against possible secondary disease or negative outcomes (e.g. late toxicities, fatal events). METHODS/DESIGN: The study is designed as a single-case experimental prospective study where each individual serves as its own control group with basal measurements obtained at the recruitment and subsequent measurements performed every 6 months during follow ups. The measurement will involve CASE-cancer, Patient Activation Measure and System Usability Scale. The study will involve 160 survivors (80 survivors of Breast Cancer and 80 survivors of Colorectal Cancer) from four countries, Belgium, Latvia, Slovenia, and Spain. The intervention will be implemented via a digital tool (mHealthApplication), collecting objective biomarkers (vital signs) and subjective biomarkers (PROs) with the support of a (embodied) conversational agent. Additionally, the Clinical Decision Support system (CDSS), including visualization of cohorts and trajectories will enable oncologists to personalize treatment for an efficient care plan and follow-up management. DISCUSSION: We expect that cancer survivors will significantly increase their self-efficacy following the personalized intervention supported by the m-HealthApplication compared to control measurements at recruitment. We expect to observe improvement in healthy habits, disease self-management and self-perceived QoL. Trial registration ISRCTN97617326. https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN97617326 . Original Registration Date: 26/03/2021.

[Locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma with biliary compression: need for early drainage]. / Adénocarcinome obstructif localement avancé de la tête du pancréas : importance du drainage biliaire précoce.

The incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing, but proportion of resectable cases and survival do not increase. Then, our care strategies have to be optimized. Chemotherapy is the principal treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer. When the tumour triggers biliary obstruction, chemotherapy-associated morbidity increases, and biliary drainage becomes crucial. Gold-standard is endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, which could be impossible when duodenum or papilla are involved by the tumour. Other options are percutaneous radiologic drainage, surgical double by-pass or EUS-guided drainage. When EUS-guided procedures are available, they are proposed today as the best options.

Devant l'augmentation d'incidence du cancer du pancréas, sans accroissement du pourcentage de formes résécables ni de la survie, nos stratégies de prise en charge doivent être optimisées à tous les niveaux. Le traitement du cancer localement avancé du pancréas repose sur la chimiothérapie. En cas d'ictère, les effets secondaires de la chimiothérapie risquent d'être majorés, un drainage biliaire doit être réalisé. La technique de référence est la cholangiographie rétrograde endoscopique, qui s'avère impossible en cas d'envahissement duodénal ou papillaire. Il faut alors se tourner vers le drainage radiologique percutané, la chirurgie de double dérivation et, plus récemment, le drainage échoguidé. Lorsque la technique échoguidée est disponible et maîtrisée, ses avantages la positionnent devant le drainage percutané et la chirurgie.

Predictors of severe Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVE: A model based on clinical characteristics at diagnosis and predicting the early development of disabling Crohn's disease (CD) has recently been proposed in order to target patients for early intervention. The objectives of this study were to confirm the predictive factors established in a previous study and to establish the predictive factors for the development of severe disease characterized by the development of clinically significant non-reversible damage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our retrospective study comprised a total of 361 patients with CD from our clinical database with a follow-up of longer than 5 years. Clinical, demographic and biological factors associated with the development of disabling disease (according to predefined criteria) within 5 years after the diagnosis of CD and with the time to development of severe disease (according to predefined criteria) were successively studied by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The rate of disabling CD within 5 years after diagnosis was 57.9%. Perianal lesions, the need for steroids to treat the first flare and ileo-colonic location, but not age below 40 years were confirmed as predictive markers. The rate of severe disease was 37.4%. Stricturing behaviour (HR: 2.11 (95% CI: 1.39-3.20)) and loss of weight (> 5 kg) (HR: 1.67 (95% CI: 1.14-2.45)) at diagnosis were independently associated with the time to development of severe disease. The predictive performances of the models generated were low. CONCLUSIONS: Disabling and severe CD developed in roughly one-third and two-thirds of our patients, respectively. Some clinical predictive markers could be found or even confirmed but their performances were low.